Just when the Clippers seemed to have turned their franchise around to the right side, things go bad. Everything started to go down south when prospect Shaun Livingston went down with a huge knee injury late in the past season, tearing most of his ligaments. More recently, superstar Elton Brand ruptured his achilles tendon. Both players underwent successfull surgeries, but will miss quite a lot of the upcoming season. On top of the that, Clippers guard Sam Cassell will be 38, and his back court mate, Cuttino Mobley, just turned 33. With age being problems, and the Clippers current top option, Corey Maggette, being injury prone, and Chris Kaman coming off a lingering injury, Clippers are in for a very long offseason.

I do not know why everybody thinks we will do so poorly this year. I think we will have closer to 40 wins if anything. I really think Thornton will come up big for us and make everybody regret not picking him. I think Kaman will play much better because he will have the entire paint to play in rather than just the right side. Cassell will win a majority of the games he plays in and if we keep Jordan I think we could play a more up-tempo style and Thomas will be more of a scoring force. I also think Brand will come back right before All-Star break and make a major contribution. I'm tired of everybody dumping on us no matter what, I know Brand is hurt but we still have a core of talented players on our team. Brand is our main player but factor in the fact he did not have a great season last year and we have a much better team this year. I think the West has thinned out quite a bit this season. I think the East may be stronger this season due to the fact quite a bit of talent shifted over to the East side and we will not have to play them as often. You will still have SA, Dallas and PHX but ther is a whole lot of young teams in the West this year and who knows what will happen across the hallway.

Q I liked your article but I think Ross will see more time at the SG position and Patterson more at the Forward positions. I do not hink the West will be as strong this year and one more thing, why the Packers?

Id love to say that the Clippers will tread water as much as the next fan, but we gotta be realistic. Sammy is 38 and Cat is 33... That's our starting backcourt. The pick up of Rubin Patterson was the only move we made this summer that I actually liked. I don't know why we signed Josh Powell, whent there is still Chris Webber, who isn't even signed with a team yet. CWeb would have helped up majorly until EB came back, and if we signed C Webb for 2 or 3 years, he would have made one hell of a backup and would have helped ball movement majorly which we lack big time right now. Brevin Knight was an okay pick up, but like Cassell, you can't count on him to play every game. And to be honest, I think Jared Jordan will more more of an impact on this team than BK. I love the fact that we drafted Thornton, I think against certain teams, we can put him as our starting PF similar to a Shawn Marion type player. Problem is, Thornton is a poor rebounder considering the length and athleticism he has, which is very Shawn Marion-like. We should have drafted Nick Young. We were more in need for a guard than a swing man. Nick Young would have been an incredible pick up. But now, with Maggette, Patterson, Ross, Thornton, Thomas, and Korolev, the Clippers have an ugly lockjam at SF with little depth at the PG, PF, and Center positiongs. One longterm injury to either Maggette or Kaman and we're officially done. Kaman had injury problems and we all know how injury prone Maggette is. I just don't like our chances. I hate to say it but for most of the regular season because of injuries, we'll probably see a starting line-up of Kaman, Thomas, Thornton, Ross, and Jordan most of the time before EB and Livingston comes back.

If for some reason the Clippers prove me wrong and tread water until EB and Livy gets back, this team will be a threat... Not for a championship, but like the 05-06 season, teams won't take us as seriously as they did last season and maybe sneak up on opponents.

Who knows. There are a lot of possibilities.

-Corey can finally prove the h*ers wrong and do a decent job carrying the team on his back. Untill EB gets back, his numbers will be inflated. Somewhere around 25, maybe even 27-30 if the team does get hit with the injury bug that avoids Corey. He should grab a lot of rebounds with EB out. With EB Out, and outside of Kaman, this is a very poor rebounding team, but Corey is a very good rebounder for his size, if he averages around 8 rebounds before EB gets back, I won't be suprised. And also, towards the end of last season, Corey has shown that he's able to get other teammates involved with was a major key to our run towards the end of the season. Corey will have inflated stats.

Bottom line. Corey finally has the chance to prove what he can do as the number 1 option. Me being a huge Maggette supporter, I'm very anxious to see how he does as the first option.

- Kaman can bounce back better than before. him being our only inside thread untill EB gets back, he needs to step it up. As long as he can stay away from major injuries, I think he can be a big factor for us inside. The only other player that's a proven scoring big man on this team is Tim Thomas, but unfortunately, he plays too much in the peremiter, so the paint pretty much belongs to Kaman untill EB gets back. He should average nothing less than 13 points and 10 rebounds. Then again, he does have the talent to be a 20/10 player, but is proven way inconsistant though.

- Can Josh Powell be one of those "hidden gems", much like Simmons or Q Ross? Being so thin inside, Powell does have the chance to play consistant minutes about 20-25 minutes a game.

- Can Yarik Korolev(if we do keep him) and Paul Davis have improved seasons? Korolev has the makings of a big shooting guard. He's athletic, and he can shoot. He's got high basketball IQ. He just needs a chance. And givent hat we're not expected to do much, why not give him a chance. Let him share minutes with Mobley and Ross at the SG position. Paul Davis has shown some promice in the Summer league games. He's a big man that can hit the midrange jumper and rebound and defend. Expect him to battle Josh Powell for consistant playing time.

Id love to say that the Clippers will tread water as much as the next fan, but we gotta be realistic. Sammy is 38 and Cat is 33... That's our starting backcourt. The pick up of Rubin Patterson was the only move we made this summer that I actually liked. I don't know why we signed Josh Powell, whent there is still Chris Webber, who isn't even signed with a team yet. CWeb would have helped up majorly until EB came back, and if we signed C Webb for 2 or 3 years, he would have made one hell of a backup and would have helped ball movement majorly which we lack big time right now. Brevin Knight was an okay pick up, but like Cassell, you can't count on him to play every game. And to be honest, I think Jared Jordan will more more of an impact on this team than BK. I love the fact that we drafted Thornton, I think against certain teams, we can put him as our starting PF similar to a Shawn Marion type player. Problem is, Thornton is a poor rebounder considering the length and athleticism he has, which is very Shawn Marion-like. We should have drafted Nick Young. We were more in need for a guard than a swing man. Nick Young would have been an incredible pick up. But now, with Maggette, Patterson, Ross, Thornton, Thomas, and Korolev, the Clippers have an ugly lockjam at SF with little depth at the PG, PF, and Center positiongs. One longterm injury to either Maggette or Kaman and we're officially done. Kaman had injury problems and we all know how injury prone Maggette is. I just don't like our chances. I hate to say it but for most of the regular season because of injuries, we'll probably see a starting line-up of Kaman, Thomas, Thornton, Ross, and Jordan most of the time before EB and Livingston comes back.

If for some reason the Clippers prove me wrong and tread water until EB and Livy gets back, this team will be a threat... Not for a championship, but like the 05-06 season, teams won't take us as seriously as they did last season and maybe sneak up on opponents.

Who knows. There are a lot of possibilities.

-Corey can finally prove the h*ers wrong and do a decent job carrying the team on his back. Untill EB gets back, his numbers will be inflated. Somewhere around 25, maybe even 27-30 if the team does get hit with the injury bug that avoids Corey. He should grab a lot of rebounds with EB out. With EB Out, and outside of Kaman, this is a very poor rebounding team, but Corey is a very good rebounder for his size, if he averages around 8 rebounds before EB gets back, I won't be suprised. And also, towards the end of last season, Corey has shown that he's able to get other teammates involved with was a major key to our run towards the end of the season. Corey will have inflated stats.

Bottom line. Corey finally has the chance to prove what he can do as the number 1 option. Me being a huge Maggette supporter, I'm very anxious to see how he does as the first option.

- Kaman can bounce back better than before. him being our only inside thread untill EB gets back, he needs to step it up. As long as he can stay away from major injuries, I think he can be a big factor for us inside. The only other player that's a proven scoring big man on this team is Tim Thomas, but unfortunately, he plays too much in the peremiter, so the paint pretty much belongs to Kaman untill EB gets back. He should average nothing less than 13 points and 10 rebounds. Then again, he does have the talent to be a 20/10 player, but is proven way inconsistant though.

- Can Josh Powell be one of those "hidden gems", much like Simmons or Q Ross? Being so thin inside, Powell does have the chance to play consistant minutes about 20-25 minutes a game.

- Can Yarik Korolev(if we do keep him) and Paul Davis have improved seasons? Korolev has the makings of a big shooting guard. He's athletic, and he can shoot. He's got high basketball IQ. He just needs a chance. And givent hat we're not expected to do much, why not give him a chance. Let him share minutes with Mobley and Ross at the SG position. Paul Davis has shown some promice in the Summer league games. He's a big man that can hit the midrange jumper and rebound and defend. Expect him to battle Josh Powell for consistant playing time.

Very nice post, I would have had us sign Batista rather than Powell but then again we still can. I agree with most of your post except I think we will be hit harder if one of our PG go down rather than Corey. Thornton has the ability to be a 15+ scorer in this league and can really shine if or rather when Corey suffers an injury.

Very nice post, I would have had us sign Batista rather than Powell but then again we still can. I agree with most of your post except I think we will be hit harder if one of our PG go down rather than Corey. Thornton has the ability to be a 15+ scorer in this league and can really shine if or rather when Corey suffers an injury.

Yup, I think in the next few years Thornton will come up big for the Clips...

Very nice post, I would have had us sign Batista rather than Powell but then again we still can. I agree with most of your post except I think we will be hit harder if one of our PG go down rather than Corey. Thornton has the ability to be a 15+ scorer in this league and can really shine if or rather when Corey suffers an injury.

Thanks for the compliment. I agree with you to an extent, about Maggette, and it also shows why the Clippers will most likely struggle to win 30 games. The probability of losing Knight and Cassell to injuries is much more probable than losing Maggette to an injury. There's also a good probability that Cassell and Knight sit a few nights at the same time, and until Livingston is back, who do we look at to direct the load? Jordan, if he is signed, will definitely show stints but i don't really see too much in a full game from a second round rookie. There's Diaz, but he's more suited for the 2 guard.

Why I only agree with you to an extent is because Corey's our top scoring option, and is the only one on the team you can rely on to provide consistancy. Maggs has shown before that he's consistant. If he continues to attack the basket and only take jumpshots when he's wide open and not off balance, he'll be very consistant. There is not any other player until EB gets back that you can rely on to show consistancy, which is one of the main reasons why this team will most likely be in the Rose/Mayo sweepstakes.

Clip fans are clearly the real fans of the game in LA.
We have tasted few sucesses and many bitter defeats
over the years. We remain hopeful that one day our
team will turn the corner and hoist a banner up on
Staples next to the Faker's ones, and have a mid June
parade down Figueroa honoring our favorite team and
players.

Back to the preview, 35 wins is on the high target
and less than 30 is the low target. I see it between
30 and 35. I want EB and Stanley to sit out
the season and get healthy for the 2008-9 season.
I want us to win the lotto this year and draft OJ
next year.

I do not want to see this team tank, but I agree, if this team drafts Rose or Mayo, we will be back in playoff contention in no time. If we some how get the Wolve's 11th pick and Budinger falls that far, Rose and Businger would make a great, young backup for many, many years to come.

C- Kaman
F- Brand
F- Maggette
G- Budinger
G- Rose

Can you imagine how high placed the Clipper offense would be and how dynamic our back court would be with the Athleticism and size that both Chase and Derrick show? A starting back court of Budinger and Rose in 3-5 years will be the most feared back court in the league.

I'm feeling more optimistic about this season lately, but I do have my doubts about Corey. Does anyone else notice him start to take too many jumpers down the stretch in games--he doesn't always seem to make good decisions to me. His slashing is his strength, but for the last couple of years he looked reticent to go to it, maybe because of his past injuries. Hopefully he'll come back strong and confident this year and fall into a good groove, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him shoot 41-42% as the #1 option.